Three members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), Charles R. Blaich, Matt Nelson, and Steven SanFilippo, will be speaking about their 9/11 experience and honoring those heroes who have fallen as part of the EAA Aviation Museum Aviation Adventure Speaker Series on Monday, September 11, at 7 p.m.
Charles R. Blaich comes from a family of firefighters and served in the Marine Corps for 30 years before retiring as a colonel. He continued to serve New York City as deputy chief of department before retiring in 2004.
Charles was recuperating at home from a recent surgery when he received a call from his brother, battalion commander William Blaich, informing him an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. William and his wife picked Charles up right away, with Charles only having his father’s old fire helmet for gear.
As they were leaving on a ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, the second tower came down. The Blaich brothers knew William’s son, Peter, was stationed downtown that day, so they feared the worst. Thankfully, Peter was rescued alive from the rubble of the North Tower.
Unfortunately, not all families were as lucky. Charles said, “What was hard for me, there were a lot of senior chiefs who had retired, who’d come looking for their sons and their nephews and their relatives.” Charles even ran into his own father, a retired battalion chief who was then 82 years old, searching for his old company. Sadly, it was destroyed.
Charles was given the assignment of logistics chief for the five months following the attack, meeting with 72 city, state, and federal agencies each morning to assign jobs, organize supply distribution, determine hazmat operations, and even plot where cranes could safely be placed for cleanup.
“The whole purpose of this (presentation) is to remember the heroes that actually died that day. The fire department lost 343 men. There were police officers that lost their lives and EMT people that lost their lives. It was just a horrible day… This is all done in keeping the memory alive.”
Matthew Nelson joined the FDNY in 1985, and coming from a family of police officers, he was considered the black sheep of the family. Matt served the FDNY for almost four decades until he retired as a battalion chief in December 2022.
On September 9, 2001, Matt was promoted from lieutenant to captain, and subsequently pulled from his usual engine company in Brooklyn to Queens. This moment proved to be more bitter than sweet. “You’re so happy for two days, and then that happens. You have a little guilt, like, ‘Holy crap. I would’ve been working that rig.’ Instead, I’m pulled out, and one of my other friends had to cover the spot.” Sadly, his friend was killed that day. “It’s tough meeting the families and the wives, but everyone… we know that’s the luck of the draw.”
After the towers were hit, Matt aided the struggles with logistical issues as out-of-town firetrucks were not compatible with the hydrants or radios used in Manhattan. For months following that day, Matt, along with countless others, worked in rotating shifts. He explained, “You would be one day in the Trade Center for 24 hours, one day off, one day in your normal firehouse for 24 hours, and another day off. But I don’t know anyone who took that day off… they went right back to the Trade Center.”
Matt was promoted to battalion chief in 2011 and retired just 8 months ago. “I miss it so dearly. Number one, the guys. The camaraderie… I’m glad I got to do it for 38 years. 38 years felt like 38 minutes.”
Steven SanFilippo wasn’t sure what to do for a career after his time in the Navy, so he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the FDNY in 1978. He was promoted to battalion chief in 2004 and retired after 42 years in 2020.
A week before the event, Steven had hurt his knee after a staircase collapsed in a fire, so at the time he was on medical leave. He was leaving the medical office in downtown Brooklyn via the Verrazzano Bridge when he heard what was going on. He said, “I made a U-turn and went right to the firehouse, but by then both companies were already out of the firehouse. My firehouse was right across the river on the Brooklyn side from Manhattan, so they… responded probably almost immediately.”
Steven was the captain of Intervention Company 279, which lost five members from the event. “I only spent a short period of time at Ground Zero, for the fact that our battalion lost 19 members all together, and the division felt it was important that the company commander stay in the firehouse to maintain continuity,” Steven explained.
Following the aftermath, Steven was promoted to battalion chief and worked in hazmat operations, helping the department recover and adapt to the new reality. “I decided to stay. I didn’t think it was the right thing to leave [after 9/11], I wasn’t going to let that chase me out of the fire department, which I loved the job it itself, but it was my family business. I stayed until I turned 65, and then at 65 they make you leave.”
Next Monday’s event is free for EAA members and youths 5 and under, and just $5 for nonmembers.